Strength Science

• The quads are critical to train to remain injury free. The quads provide the breaking forces when the front leg hits the ground during sprinting. The leg is never fully extended during sprinting because then you would be moving vertically and not horizontally. In particular, the VMO is critical as it affects knee tracking. The best way to hammer these guys is through movements such as the lunge, step up, rear foot elevated split squat or speed skater squats.
• When I get my high school athletes telling me their weight has hit a plateau, I have them do two things. First, I have them do a shake that has 970 calories and 75 grams of protein in it 2x per day. Second, I have them do a five days of 80 grams of glutamine per day on those days. This can be done every 2-3 months. I got this idea from Charles Poliquin. It helps to heal the stomach lining, which will lead to better nutrient absorption. All of my guys that have done this have gained 3-6 pounds of lean weight and kept it on after the week.
• Sleep is king. I am a hypocrite when it comes to this as I always fall back into the trap of burning the candle late night to get more work done. However, when I presented at a clinic recently, a fellow presenter was from the U.S. Navy and his findings were very awakening. He said if the brain is awake for 17 or more hours for 3 straight days, it functions as if it were intoxicated and he even showed images of a brain with 8 hours of sleep. Vs. 6 hours of sleep. The 6 hour brain had significantly less blood flow than the 8 hour one. He also spoke of the importance of recovery. He was very fortunate to have an Omega Wave machine to know when his guys were about to hit bottom. He did say that a de-load week should be used every 4 weeks or so and this is also what Buddy Morris suggested when I looked back at one of his presentations. Sleep and recover to grow!

Kyle Newell is a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) located in New Jersey. He specializes in body transformation and sport specific conditioning. Kyle is pursuing his master's degree in exercise science through the University of Texas Pan American. Kyle is also a competitive bodybuilder in addition to being a Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN). Kyle is available for online consulting. Just remember that proximity has nothing to do with expertise. Kyle can be reached through his website at http://www.bodyperformancecoach.com

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